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G. F. WATTS'S MEMORIAL TO HEROIC SELF SACRIFICE

A KEY TO THE TILED PLAQUES

The plaque detailing the Watts Memorial.
  • Postman's Park, St Martin's Le Grand, London EC1A
  • St Paul's Underground

THE KEY TO THE MEMORIALS

Below you will find a quick reference key to the 54 memorials in Postman's Park. I have used the glazed brick dividers to split the memorial into six sections. Each section has a separate entry, beneath which you will read the names of those who are memorialised in that particular section. To read the newspaper accounts of that particular person's heroic act simply click on their name and you will be taken to their page which will give full details.

As you will notice when you read the individual accounts, some of the information on the plaques is incorrect. Some have the wrong names, some have the wrong dates, and one features an example of Victorian fake news!

Since my intention for this guide is to provide a visual reference of the memorial itself, I have used the names and the dates as featured on the plaques, and any factual errors have been highlighted and corrected in the actual text on the individual pages.

THE WATTS STATUETTE

At the centre of the wall is a memorial to its creator George Frederick Watts.

This memorial was unveiled on December 13th 1905, a year after Watts had died.

A statuette of him stands in a niche, flanked by pilasters. He wears a robe and holds a scroll on which is inscribed "HEROES."

There are inscriptions above and below the statuette. The top one reads, "THE UTMOST FOR THE HIGHEST"; whilst beneath is carved, "IN MEMORIAM GEORGE FREDERIC WATTS, WHO, DESIRING TO HONOUR HEROIC SELF SACRIFICE, PLACED THESE RECORDS HERE."

Shortly after the memorial had been unveiled it was suggested by the committee that had been set up to oversee the monument that an iron grill should be placed over the statuette to protect it.

However, Watts's widow, Mary, dismissed the committee's concerns observing that it would be better to trust the public.

The statuette of G. F. Watts.

HOW TO USE THE GUIDE

On the photograph below you will see the six sections into which I have divided the Memorial To Heroic Self Sacrifice.

Each section then has its own entry below.

Each entry features a photograph of the tiles on that particular section, followed by a list of the names of those who are commemorated.

The names run left to right from the top left corner of the section to the bottom right corner of the section.

Just click on a name to be taken to the article.

The key to the memorial.

SECTION ONE

The memorial plaques in section one.
TOP Alfred Smith Leigh Pitt
MIDDLE Thomas Griffin Walter Peart and Harry Dean Mary Rogers George Stephen Funnell
BOTTOM Joseph Andrew Ford Amelia Kennedy Edmund Emery William Donald

SECTION TWO

The memorial plaques in section two.
TOP ROW P. C. Harold Frank Ricketts P. C. Edward George Brown Greenoff P. C. Percy Edwin Cook Frederick Mills, A. Rutter Robert Durrant and F. D. Jones
MIDDLE ROW Elizabeth Boxall Herbert Peter Cazaly Herbert Maconoghu Samuel Rabbeth
BOTTOM ROW Frederick Alfred Croft Harry Sisley James Hewers George Blencowe

SECTION THREE

The memorial plaques in section three.
TOP ROW David Selves William Goodrum Mrs Yarman Alexander Stewart Brown
BOTTOM ROW Ernest Benning Thomas Simpson William Fisher George Frederick Simonds

SECTION FOUR

The memorial plaques in section four.
TOP ROW Richard Farris George Lee William Drake Ellen Donovan
BOTTOM ROW Samuel Lowdell William Freer Lucas Edward Blake Edward Morris

SECTION FIVE

The memorial plaques in section five.
TOP ROW Alice Ayres John Cranmer Cambridge G. Garnish John Clinton
BOTTOM ROW Godfrey Nicholson, George Elliott and Robert Underhill Soloman Galaman James Bannister Elizabeth Coghlam

SECTION SIX

The memorial plaques in section six.
TOP ROW Sarah Smith Robert Wright Henry James Bristow Joseph William Onslow
BOTTOM ROW Arthur Regelous and Alice Denman Arthur Strange and Mark Tomlinson John Slade Daniel Pemberton